Eating a lot of saturated fat can increase the cholesterol in your blood. High levels of cholesterol can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke and narrowed arteries.

Eating a lot of saturated fat can increase the levels of cholesterol in your blood. Having high cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease, which includes heart attack and narrowed arteries (atherosclerosis)

Cholesterol is a fatty substance made by your liver and carried around the body in the blood. The fats in food you eat can affect the levels of cholesterol in your blood.

Is all fat bad for me?

Your body needs small amounts of fat to help it work normally. However, some types of fat are healthier than others. There are two main types of fats in food:

saturated fat

unsaturated fat

It's a good idea to eat less saturated fat, or swap foods high in saturated fat for small amounts of foods containing unsaturated fats, to reduce the health risks linked with high cholesterol levels.

Which foods contain saturated fat?

Foods that are high in saturated fat include:

butter, lard and ghee (oil made from butter)

fatty meats and meat products, such as sausages and pies

full-fat milk

cream, sour cream, crème fraîche and ice cream

cheese, particularly hard cheese

some savoury snacks, such as pork scratchings

coconut oil, coconut cream and palm oil

biscuits, cakes and pastries

chocolates and some sweets

Eating less saturated fat

If you eat lots of foods high in saturated fat, it's a good idea to eat them less often or have smaller amounts of them.

Below are some tips to help you include less fat and less fatty foods in your diet: